18 Days' Campaign
by Tigger12403
Summary: Gift for rowanberryy;;


_May 28, 1940, 03:46_

Laura narrowed spring green eyes in the direction of Ludwig, her blonde hair mussed as it fell around her slim face. The German man met her gaze evenly, his own ice blue optics cool and unemotional. The two stood in silence, bristling like cats of the edge of striking out on one another. They were alike in many ways, they really were; they both spoke fluid German, though Laura's was slightly different due to the French and Dutch influences. They both were blonde, and had pale complexions, though Laura's had a more sunny hue to it. They were both sad, upset, confused, angry, hurt. But there was one thing that they differed in, and that was their allegiances.

A man with choppy, blonde hair stood off to the side, scowling. His olive green eyes were narrowed in the direction of Ludwig, though he was unable to move due to the pale haired man standing behind him and holding him in place. Red eyes glittered with an uneasy light, and Gilbert looked between Ludwig, Laura, Francis, whom had been taken care of earlier when the two German men tied his hands behind his back and pushed him to the ground, then was promptly gagged so he could join Arthur in his state of unwanted silence, and Lars, who on the other hand had been knocked out earlier on, but his hands were also tied behind his back and his usually styled hair was falling over his shut eyes. The Englishman would occasionally shift his feet, but he wouldn't dare move any other muscle. He had seen defeat enough to know that that was where they were standing, and so he simply let himself be held hostage by the albino.

There was one thing that they differed in, their allegiances and their followed leaders. Ludwig, Gilbert, Lovino and Feliciano had come together under the rule of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, following morals that were twisted in the eyes of the other countries. Beating their old friends into submission and taking everything they owned, forcing them to get on their hands and knees in front of them, watching with _pleasure_ as their pride shattered into pieces and listen with amusement as they muttered the words needed in order to surrender to the two adjoined countries. Laura, Francis, Arthur, Jett, Matthew, Mathias, Lars, Feliks, and Lukas were all a part of the Allied Nations, fighting against the two new world powers as they tried to push them back into their original territories, and tried steal back what they had taken away from all of them.

Laura's green eyes were narrowed and shined with a cold, unforgiving light, as she glared in the direction of Ludwig. A tense silence had fallen over the four people, and nobody dared to break it. They were all battered and beaten, both physically and mentally, though it was obvious by the blonde woman's appearance, who stood parallel to Ludwig, that it was she who took the most damage. Maybe she hadn't pulled the most casualties, it was the two German brothers that suffered that fate, but they had been fighting in Belgian territories for eighteen days thus far, not counting the couple of times where they were forced to retreat into Luxembourg, where her brother allowed them in. Whether it be fearful for his life on the German's side, or willing to help on the Allied side, he didn't protest when either legion fell back into the smaller country's domain.

Darkness was cloaking the fields of Menen where they stood, and Laura could almost feel the Menin Gate bearing down on them miles to her right. They stood in the city that was named after the one monument that recognized the fallen soldiers that fell during the Great War. And now they were toppling down like building blocks again, again falling under Germany and its forces. But Ludwig and his brother had been defeated once before, and she knew that they could and would do it again. Even if it meant the surrender of her country for however long it went on this time. She'd think that after Ludwig had came to her in 1918, after he had been brought down in the Great War, with a bouquet of poppies and an apology, that they could be friends again. She had even forgiven his brother, but their friendship, no, their _alliance_ , had only lasted for a mere twenty-one years. Those twenty years had been short and peaceful, with Laura not having to worry about what the German troops would do to her people next, but then Ludwig launched the September Campaign.

Laura had been more than surprised when she heard about Feliks, though nobody made a move to help until they heard that the Soviet Union were joining in, too, which just surprised Laura even more. Sure, she could picture Ivan and Natalya jumping in headfirst, though she'd think that Katyusha would argue with her brother. Not counting the three Baltic states. But nobody could deny the foreboding truth of what was happening. Gilbert and Ludwig were trying to take over Poland, and the Soviets were helping. Francis had been the first to react, and the Frenchman sent forty of his own divisions to probe at the German defenses and attempt to push them away from the French border. They failed, once the majority of German troops returned from the Invasion of Poland, and were forced to draw back and proceed to begin the Phoney War.

Since then, there have been attacks all over the place by the Soviets and the Germans. Starting with Poland and France, they slowly moved across Europe and into Finland, then down into South America where New Zealand and Britain fought nearby Uruguay, Norway, Iceland, Netherlands, and now? Her. She should have seen it coming, she really should've, but she hadn't seen it quick enough. She had been living off of the brittle hope that Ludwig would think of her and avoid her country, and so it was only when the German troops marched in did she realize there was trouble. When Francis and Arthur reeled themselves into her country and started fighting back alongside her, she had had a little hope. Three countries against one? There was an obvious winner there, no? Well, that was exactly the answer; no.

Ludwig and his brother had easily gained momentum in their attack against her, and even after Arthur and Francis had stepped in there was little that could be done after the two Germans sent in attack after attack, their _blitzkrieg_ unstoppable, apparently, as they took over Europe. And so now here they stood, basically surrounded by the Nazi soldiers, but Laura didn't falter as she glared at Ludwig through poisonous green eyes, her blonde locks falling into her face. She had lost her favorite headband, what a pity, so now her hair fell messily around her head without any order. It wasn't like it mattered, anyways. She was about to get taken under the wing of the German forces forcibly, so why should she care about what she looked like? She shouldn't, and she really didn't.

Now that she thought back on it, though, she couldn't believe she had been so _stupid_. She had actually thought she had had something, something more than just a 'friendship', between her and Ludwig. She had thought that he felt it, too, the infatuation with him in everything he was. His blue eyes and the way they gave away his emotions despite the unfaltering frowns, his cute personality and the way he would get flustered when she even gave the slightest indication of something romantic, his deep and accented voice and the way it'd grow slow and exaggerated whenever he was irritated; everything and anything _him_ was beautiful, stunning, breathtaking, handsome. She could go on forever when it came to describing him, but now? She had grown to trust him, to like him, to _love_ him and _he_ just shows how he feels by- by attacking her country?

When she spoke to Lars about it, he had tried to offer his own consolation but the awkward Dutchman hadn't been able to say much. Well, really, what had she expected? He barely spoke; period. So she turned to one of her closest, well, _Italian_ friends. Lovino may outwardly seem uninterested in romantic things and the such, but c'mon. He was, quite literally, the personification of half of Italy. The country of romance. And she knew him better then (mostly) anyone else. She even knew about his silly crush on her when he was a small country, whenever Antonio would bring him along when visiting them. It had been cute, but now they had put it behind them and focused on their current love lives. He had said that "the bastard probably likes you back, since he's a stupid German bastard and you can read them too fucking easily if you even tried in the slightest dammit, and I've seen - and everyone else has seen - the way you two look at each other. It's, like, some stupid sappy love drama, or something. Jeez."

And of course she had believed him. Lovino was her best friend, along with Elizabeta and Lili, so why wouldn't she? But now she was doubting that. Ludwig had stormed into Belgium and destroyed everything she owned and loved, so why wouldn't she doubt it?! Of course she knew that it wasn't fully his fault, and in reality she shouldn't be placing all her silly lovesick blames on him, because most of the decisions a country made were heavily influenced on their leader. She as a fellow country should know that better than most people. She decided she didn't like Adolf Hitler right then and there. She could also say that 'Oh, Lovino was tricking you, too! He's on the enemy's side right along with that dirty, scheming German!' but then she'd sound even more like a fool, even to herself. She knew that Lovino didn't have any say in what his country did, as he'd often complain about how his brother got to make all the decisions and not him. Also, you have to take into consideration _his_ boss, too. Before she had found it slightly annoying, but now she was glad that he had complained to her about it. Then, at least, now she wouldn't have any misguided resent towards the other. Perhaps when she was a prisoner of war she'd be put in one of the Italian camps and he could come and talk to her like they did when there was worldwide peace.

Ah, it was fun to dream. No, if she was lucky she'd be put with Belgian soldiers. In Germany. If the Italian army hadn't come to the attack, then there was no way that she was going to be put in Italy. Scratch that; there was no way she'd be put in _Southern_ Italy of all places. And then, then, she'd be forced to watch the Gestapo torture information out of her generals, demanding for anything they knew about the Allied Powers. They'd physically destroy them, all of them, and all she would be able to do is watch. Just the thought made her want to cry.

So, here she stood, facing the one man that made her confused over the smallest of things, things that she, before, had been confident she was doing right. No, when she was with Ludwig she'd suddenly be self-conscious whether her hair looked right, or if she was saying the right things. Or when he looked even the slightest bit sad she'd obsess over the fact that it was _her_ that did something wrong, and then she'd feel guilty but not say anything about it, and simply try to make him feel better with every fiber in her body. She had learnt so much about this man, too, in the short amount of time that was twenty-one years. She learnt that he had a weak spot for dogs, and puppies would get him showing the soft side of him that was rarely visible even to his closest friends and family. She learnt that when he was drunk he was overly emotional, and to be honest, it was quite funny to watch. She found out that he had a passion for baking and making sweets, which happened to be extraordinarily delicious. He loves to read, and his favorites are the American sci-fi novels and fantasy, because he enjoys being taken away from the world and plunging into somewhere where he didn't have to worry about what was happening in his life.

She thought that she had learned to love a man that loved her back. But no. She had only learned how to love a man who didn't love her back. Perhaps she should have listened to Feliks before, when he said that he was probably interested in men. Okay, maybe Feliciano and he were close, but she had thought they were only friends! Even Lovino confided in her that Feliciano wasn't romantically involved with Ludwig, so perhaps he wasn't. But that didn't help shine light on the situation. She sounded like a lovesick teenage girl, desperately blaming it all on the German man, who most likely did like her back, at the least, but to be completely honest she couldn't help these feelings that were bubbling up inside of her. You also couldn't completely blame her, though. She loved Ludwig, and despite not wanting to admit it to herself she had to say that she still loved him, and she had at least thought he had loved her back. But then he went and turned his back on her. Didn't love come before anything else? She had thought so. Apparently he didn't.

Finally, after a long period of tense silence, the Belgian woman rocked forwards on her toes so that she leaned closer to the German man in front of her. "What are you going to do next?" She spat, her accented voice laced with venom. "Maybe this time you'll actually decide to kill me. It'll make it easier for you and the rest of your 'campaign'."

"Laura-" Ludwig's eyes flashed with a hurt light, and the blonde woman inwardly recoiled. This time she had actually caused that pain, and there was no denying that. Maybe he did love her back? Perhaps, he was being forced into this? No. She wouldn't be stupid again, she wouldn't.

"You have no right to call me that name, _Germany_." She hissed out, her face not betraying her inner turmoil. She watched as Ludwig's mouth contorted to a pained, downwards position and as his eyebrows knitted together. His blue eyes shone with a desperate, pleading light. His eyes gave away his inner emotions, just like always. Just then her facade faltered, and her cruel frown dropped for a split second into something worried and confused, but she was quick to curl her lip again in contempt. No, she wouldn't give in.

"Belgium, I-" Ludwig looked like he was searching for the right words, and a spark of hope lit up in her chest. _I need you, I want you, I'm sorry, I love you, I wish things were different, I- I- I-_. "I need you to go over there." The flame dwindled down into nothing, just cold charcoal weighing her heart down. His words just pumped her full of upset hurt towards the man, and she narrowed her sparkling green eyes at him.

But she wasn't stupid, at least when it came to military and war she wasn't, so she simply hissed out a venomous "fine" and stalked over towards Gilbert, who was glaring daggers at the Belgian woman. He pushed Arthur to the ground, whose olive green eyes widened as he fell onto his side with a heavy thump, a grunt, and a wince of pain. Laura shot an apologetic look in the direction of Arthur, but she couldn't be positive that the Englishman caught her gaze because he was busy glaring up and over his shoulder at Gilbert. Though, it was like a chain of obliviousness, because when Laura looked back up at the German man his red eyes were twinkling with a sort of seething hatred. Why?! It wasn't like she was the one attacking his country and taking down everything he had ever known. To be honest, she'd think that he'd understand her pain more than anyone.

She had also quickly grown close to the spunky and loud Prussian man in those short years, and it was truly hard not to. It was easy to see that people were attracted to him like a magnet, and it wasn't like it was only her that was like that. Sure, Elizabeta tended to act like she resented the other but there was obvious closeness between the two. And perhaps Roderich was disgusted with the way that Gilbert was loud, brash and way too insane for his taste but there was also friendship lingering between the two, even though they'd both vehemently deny it. And even if Ludwig sometimes grew irritated with his constant childlike rebelliousness there was no denying the obvious fact that they both loved each other, like brothers, and had an extremely close bond.

But that also wasn't the point she was trying to make. Gilbert had been around since 1525, and back then he was known as Prussia. Of course, today he was still Prussia, but it was dangerously obvious that his brother was slowly taking over the claim and he had lost most of the land he had once occupied. After the Great War, the entire western half of Prussia had been given to Poland. Now, he simply occupied East Prussia. Some of the Allied countries would refer to him as simply 'East', like they referred to Lovino as 'South'; the Allied Nations had already accepted Prussia as a part of Germany, as it was painstakingly obvious to everyone except for him. But, she would of thought, that he would understand the pain she was going through.

For four hundred fifteen years, he had been alive on this earth. He had known the pain of his land being captured and ripped away from him countless times, more than any of the other nations that stood here. So, why exactly was he giving her that look? It wasn't like she had won this battle, if that had been so then perhaps she would of understood the pure _fury_ behind that look, his vermilion optics narrowed in her direction. She swore she could see literal flames dancing in that gaze. So, still not understanding exactly what he was mad at her about, she narrowed her green stare right back at Gilbert and she stalked over to the German man. She could hear her men clamoring around her, and in her head she could hear their frenzied voices. The deed had already been completed, she knew it, but that also meant she had to speak the words herself to the two. It wasn't like they'd let her get away otherwise.

She had known what was happening from the start, but the bonds of being a country withheld her from telling her own men. They had been told that her King was signing an agreement that made Belgium form a collaborative government with Hitler and the Germans, but oh no. That was not the case. They'd be informed later, of course, but no that was far from the truth. King Leopold III had not gone and signed a contract of that sort, he had not gone and signed a contract even close to that. No, King Leopold III had gone off and signed an unconditional surrender as Commander-In-Chief of Belgian Armed Forces to Hitler. Belgium had officially surrendered.

So, as soon as she was in considerate distance of the German she spun around on her heel and put her hands behind her back, figuring there was no need to struggle against them. It wasn't too long until she felt rope being wrapped around her wrists, rather tightly dare she say, but that was expected. What was unexpected when suddenly she felt a boot coming into contact with her back and she was being pushed to the ground and onto her knees, landing with a solid _thwack_ onto the solid rock. Laura cried out, but it was cut short as she bit her lip and forced the rest of the noise back into her throat. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, but she refused to acknowledge them as she finally turned to look over at Ludwig again.

The blonde's eyes were turned away, but she could see something other than the glittering of adrenaline and the spirit of battle sparkling in the depths of his murky blue gaze. His chest was moving unevenly, and the German man looked as if he was about to cry himself. The question was,why? She had accepted the fact that he didn't love her anymore, if he had in the first place, roughly a week ago so why did he suddenly seem so regretful of all of his decisions? It wasn't like in eighteen days he could lose his love for her then regain it, and even if he had it wasn't like she was going to accept it anytime soon. No, because then he'd just do something again. It wasn't anything serious to him, was it? She couldn't shake the thought of that, the thought that no matter how serious she felt about their relationship he probably only considered her a- a 'friend with benefits' most likely. Or, not even that. It was most likely simply a crush, like Lovino had had on her when he was younger. Maybe he had felt nothing towards her this whole time, maybe she was playing right into his hands. Perhaps he had planned this all along, and he was softening her up so that the attack would come easier.

With her brain feeding her these poisonous suspicions and thoughts, she found it ten times easier to narrow her eyes at him again from their previously wide, confused and skeptical position into something more like poison. "Let's just get this over with," She spat at them, not really caring at this point whether it was Gilbert or Ludwig who was the person that would conduct their interrogation then laugh mockingly into her face. She was true to her word. She just wanted to get this over with.

She heard Gilbert mutter out something from behind her head, but it wasn't he that came up to her to speak, rather it was the one man she had been trying to avoid. Well, sort of been trying to avoid; she wasn't very good at it. His blue eyes had hardened out again, though they still shimmered uncertainty beneath the hard wall he had put up, and his face was set in a stoic frown. For a moment, though, he faltered and his eyebrows knitted together again after he looked over Laura where she kneeled on the ground, her tan army pants stained with red and dirt smeared across her right cheek. Cuts littered the exposed areas of skin, and where it wasn't exposed there were places here and there where it had been torn along with the dark stains. "Laura please-"

"I told you not to call me that name anymore _Ludwig_ ," She snapped, cutting the German man off. Her shining eyes allowed a single tear to streak down her face, and now it was obvious that she was hurt by the way that she was looking at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, _Germany_. But did I not just ask to get this over with. I think you're supposed to be delivering me to a camp any moment now." She hissed. Suddenly, she felt something hard whack against her skull and her eyes widened as her vision darkened and sparkled. Lurching forwards, she was only caught by a hand from behind her and then suddenly a sharper accent was spitting right back at her.

"Shut it you _untermensch_ ," Gilbert jeered in her ear, and Laura was shocked into silence. She turned her head slightly and tried to catch sight of the Prussian man, but he had pulled away already and therefore she found herself unable to find him. She released a quiet whimpering noise out of her own free will and she turned her head again, her face twisted into a pained expression but she still narrowed his eyes at Ludwig. Though, suddenly, she realized that his expression had grown dark and hatred sparkled there, and her mind basically cried out _see?!_ until she realized that, no, it was not directed towards her. Rather, he was looking past her and above her head. He was- At Gilbert? But why?

After a moment of silence and Laura staring at Ludwig with suddenly wide and confused eyes, the German man turned his attention finally turned his attention back onto the blonde woman. Any traces of his previous fury seemed to vanish, leaving the Belgian set in shocked silence. What just happened? Was Ludwig actually mad with Gilbert? But, why?! He didn't love her anymore, so why would he be upset with his brother? Or- Did he? No, no. She had told herself she didn't, and she wouldn't fall for it again. But then why else would he be mad? Perhaps she had misinterpreted where he was looking, and he had really been looking at her? But that wouldn't explain why his gaze had softened after looking further down? Further down, no. He must've been looking at Gilbert; but was it because he had hit her?

"Kingdom of Belgium, Laura Marion Fischer, your leader has officially signed legal documents stating the surrender of your country to the Federal Republic of Germany," She had heard these words before. They were the exact same words that had been spoken to her in 1914, during the German invasion of Belgium. Except then it had been more along the lines of 'Kingdom of Belgium and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg' and not only her. Now it was simply the Kingdom of Belgium, all alone. All alone in this cold, cruel world.

"Therefore you will be expected to come with me so we can deliver to you to one of our Prisoner of War camps, and at a point in later time we will decide what else we will do with you. But from this point on you are expected to surrender your country as land and people to the Federal Republic of Germany, or else we have the right to forcefully take it from you. Do you understand?"

It pained Laura to hear those words come out of his mouth, but she knew that he had to do it. It was tradition and basically law, between the countries that is. Now the waterworks were running, and she couldn't even raise a hand to try and brush them away because of the state of her hands being tied behind her back. Her breathing was uneven, and it took her a moment for her to admit her defeat after glaring at Ludwig through tear filled eyes, but eventually she collapsed. The woman ducked her head, tears silently falling down her cheeks as she stared at the bloodstained ground.

"Yes, I understand." She choked out quietly. As a nation, one of the most humiliating and painful things to do was to hand over everything you were. When you surrendered to a different nation, it was like cutting off your head and handing them your body. Everything that you made, everything you poured your heart and soul into, everything that was you, everything was being given to a different person whom you had no idea what they planned to do with it. Perhaps they'd destroy the people inside - either mentally converting them into their own people or physically killing them - and leaving you to fade away, until nobody else remembered who or what 'The Kingdom of Belgium' ever was, and you were simply a memory in the folds of time.

Perhaps they'd eventually be taken down and be forced to relieve you of your surrender, and then you'd be your own free country once more. But every time someone managed to pull you down and force you to surrender, there was always an everlasting bruise. Whether it be within the lives of your people who had been forced to suffer through the war it was pain, or one in your pride, and even adding another layer of war to the many long years of pain that you've already suffered through. Surrendering hurt, and it hurt in many more ways than one. Whether it be physical or mental, it hurt.

"Good," Came the snipping voice of Ludwig, breaking Laura out of her thoughts successfully. "I'm glad we've come to this agreement-" _agreement her butt_ "-and I hope things won't be as troublesome in the future as they have been in the past." She wished. With her luck, things would just go downhill from here. No, she knew that things would go downhill from here. She had faced the German _Felgendarme_ during the Great War, and from what she had heard so far was that the new German secret police, the _Gestapo_ , were even more ruthless and brutal in their torture when they tried to get information out of her people. A small shudder ran down Laura's spine at the thought of having to endure all that pain, but she quickly regained herself when she heard Ludwig's voice again.

"Prussia-" Laura scoffed quietly. Why did he even bother calling his brother by that name? It's not like he was the one who had just been taken capture, and it wasn't like he didn't know his name. And he was barely even 'Prussia' anymore. "-would you please escort Belgium-" Hah, he better call her by that name. "-to the train where the rest of the prisoners are?" That made her sick to her stomach. Not that she'd be given the same treatment as her own people, not even that she'd be surrounded by her Jewish community - she respected their religion, unlike these two, and found that it would be the same thing as being brought to a group of Christians - but the fact that he could just treat them like dirt. They were stuffing them into boxcars and shipping them off to Germany, as if they were crops that needed to move from one place to another.

The Belgian woman winced as she was pulled upwards forcibly by the German man behind her and was spun around. It wasn't too soon until she felt him kick her in the shins and Laura winced, but complied to what he obviously needed her to do. She was pulled away by Gilbert, soon enough finding herself being shoved into a boxcar with a heavy thump. The woman looked up just quick enough to see Ludwig standing just behind Gilbert and she narrowed her eyes at him, her dirt coated face already traced with water lines from previous salty tears. The metal door slammed shut with a loud bang and she could hear the click of a lock shutting the door in place, and she knew that was it. The Belgian woman could hear people shuffling around her, their eyes looking at the newcomer curiously. That or there were mothers comforting their weeping children, whose quiet, or loud, sobs wrenched her heart with twisting guilt.

The train rolled away, and Laura Marion Fischer never saw and never would see Gilbert walk off without his brother. She would never see the warm tears that rolled down his pale cheeks, or hear his quiet words before he brushed his tears away roughly and turned on his heel, scrubbing at his face to try and get rid of any evidence of his pain before he caught up with his brother and had to deal with the rest of the men who had helped Laura during her times of need.

" _Ich liebe dich_ ,"


End file.
